We make the world unsafe again
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is running a marathon to dynamite all the international rules that have been built over the years and, with his direct action, or with his alliances, to work towards a world in which, effectively, only the law of the strongest or, also, the law of the richest prevails. This is the case of the agreement he has signed with Saudi Arabia to allow the great Gulf power to enrich uranium in its own territory for nuclear fuel. In principle, it would not have military purposes, but, unlike other previous agreements with third countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, it is not foreseen, according to what has transpired so far, that there will be strict security clauses or the requirement of full access for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. It simply mentions "high standards of nuclear safety" and "nuclear non-proliferation." Although it is an agreement that has been negotiated for many years, it was initially linked to Saudi Arabia's commitment to recognize the State of Israel - which was cut short after Hamas's attacks on October 7 - and had more limits than are now foreseen to be imposed.
The current context is very different. On the one hand, because there is an ongoing war in the Middle East, where Israel and the United States have provoked a conflict with global impact that was initially intended to prevent Iran, precisely, from continuing to enrich uranium, but which has now become an increasingly convoluted conflict to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the conflict. This absurdity, moreover, has left the American allies in the Gulf exposed, as they have been the target of Iran's attacks. And the United States has not been able to protect them, or has only done so partially. Saudi Arabia, moreover, angered by the direction the conflict was taking, even refused to allow its bases to be used to fire on Iran in attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In relation to Saudi Arabia's democratic merits for receiving preferential treatment, they are not very demonstrated. The Gulf monarchy is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who, although he projects an image of wanting to modernize the country, is internationally known for being the instigator of the death and subsequent dismemberment of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime, in October 2018 in Turkey. And a fact that seems paradoxical to outsiders: both the ideologue and some of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack, of which 25 years are being commemorated this year, were Saudis, which demonstrates a certain anti-American substratum in a country that will now, precisely, be facilitated with the possibility of having nuclear weapons.
What lies behind this agreement? Apparently, mostly money. Apart from other benefits that are unclear, because part of the agreements is secret. It is known that it will be a big business for some companies. The Israelis, who have their own secret nuclear program, are concerned because this means that their main ally is allowing one of its historic regional enemies to gain power in the nuclear field and potentially overshadow them. In the end, it will turn out that Make America Great Againactually meant Make the world insecure again.
